Hey, look! Newly elected Republican Senator Dan Coats supports fillibuster reform. This appears to be one way to get on the enemy list of Red State. From all the research I've done, the Democrats can change the fillibuster rules on Day 1 of the new session by a simple majority vote (which includes Biden.) Why on earth would they not do this? Don't tell me it's to protect themselves in the future (thinking they could be the minority and need those fillibuster moments) because the GOP-if and when they get control of the Senate-can and would change the fillibuster rules in a heartbeat if it suits them. They won't care about it looking like a power grab, or opinion polls. They need it? They do it! That's the Republican way. Democrats need it? They have to get permission from the GOP, check opinion polls and second guess themselves until the opportunity is gone! Please tell me Democrats will have enough sense to do this!! Cantor and all GOP officials are admitting they won't compromise on anything...even on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaries despite it's impact on the deficit (despite what even Reagan appointees are saying to warn them!) They now have key people in charge on committees that will block climate change or immigration reform, they are lining up against repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, etc. How many more ways can the GOP announce: we ain't gonna change-NO, NO, NO-that's how we roll!

Another crazy "dream" thought, with tea party groups going after or promising primary battles for any moderate GOP senators or those who dare to vote yes on anything, they may have 3 choices:

1. Run as a Republican and hope your primary voters don't run you out of office.

2. Retire or run for something less offensive to Tea Partiers

3. Switch to the Democratic party which may give them a better chance to stay in office.

Hmmm-wouldn't that be fun to see a wave of # 3. If they don't just shut up and give in/stay in line, I would think that the Snowe, Collins and Brown-types will get sick of all the eggs in their faces by their won party and consider going where they might be more appreciated?? We'll have to watch closer to their re-election time.

Democrats are mounting a new effort to chart a path for Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) to switch parties, the National Journalreports Wednesday.

Sen. Snowe appears a smart target for Democrats. A moderate Republican who occasionallysides with
Democrats, Snowe faces an increasingly difficult road to reelection in
2012, especially with the rising conservative tide that is now lapping
at the shores of -- or perhaps flooding -- the Pine Tree State.

In a state with two moderate Republican senators and two Democratic
U.S. representatives, the Republican wave last week provided passage for
Tea Party-backed gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage, a boisterous and controversial
small-town mayor, to become Maine's next Governor (with the campaign
help of Snowe, no less). Maine Republicans also made huge gains in the
state House and Senate, taking majority control of both.

This may be a bad sign
for Sen. Snowe, who is now left to wonder if Republicans of her tilt
aren't a dying breed, even in a state that has long been a bastion for
moderacy.

Snowe has attempted to take the clear ideological shift of her party
in stride, but at times she has addressed the changing landscape with
discontent. Last year she notably told MSNBC: "I haven't changed as a Republican. I think more that my party has changed."

Months before that, she said
that Sen. Arlen Specter's (Penn.) switch to the Democratic Party
"underscores the blunt reality" that the GOP is not a welcome place for
moderates.

More recently, Snow appeared visibly upset by the primary loss of
Rep. Mike Castle in Delaware to the Tea Party-backed Christine
O'Donnell.

I have a neutral opinion on the idea of Snowe switching sides. On one hand, she is a moderate Republican who does not sit most favorably with her party leaders right now. On the other hand, she might want to stay as a Republican as long as possible, if only to keep up the fight for a bigger tent in her party. Zell Miller, strong conservative Democrat from the south, said that he would be a Democrat for life, despite his many disagreements with the Democratic Party's liberal base, so maybe Snowe will stay a Republican. I just don't know. The GOP might end up kicking her out of the party too, I'm just not sure. All I know is that her moderate thinking has upset the conservative base of the GOP in the past, so I will not be surprised if we end up with three Independents or 54 Democrats in the Senate.

She is popular in Maine so she would be easily re-elected. The problem is that the Tea Party may not give her a chance to even be a contender. They have already declared her a target and will be relentless about all her votes against her party. And Tea Partiers vote in mass. We learned that the hard way. They could knock her off in a primary, judging by how Castle was discarded for a nutcase endoresed by Sarah Palin. I agree she will hang on as a GOPer as long as possible and I'm sure she wants to stay to keep moderates alive in the party, which I applaud and appreciate. But if reality looks like it will echo what Castle went through, I'll bet she'd consider a switch. My question is whether the Democratic supporters would want her. They were not too thrilled with Spector switching. I suppose she could try to get the GOP nod and if that does not work out, follow the Murkowski write-in ballot way. I guess it's too soon to predict, but it will be interesting to watch.